The Balvenie - 29 March 2008 @ 7pm GMT

[arkle]

It was the glass, itys all over the computer, I hope I dont get electrocuted!

[Ganga]

A wee drop of water to the Portwood.

Nose: Honey, loads of all-spice, crisp fruit platter-pears, apples, melons, strawberries, malty, chewy caramel
Palate: Toffee, honey, nuts, loads of mixed spices
Finish: Long, toffee and spices, chocolate coming in at the very end.

This is it. This is how I like it. Brandy glass and about three drops of water.

[Sherried Malt]

Hey there, guys.

Finally made it here after an afternoon of errands. It's 5:15 pm here...

Only have the Double Wood and the 21 yo Port Wood. Should be able to catch up soon...

[mikeymad]

Balvenie 15 SB Cask 1781
47.8 15yo Single Barrel

Colour=Gold
Nose=Cereal, light caramel, soap
Palate=light spice, hard candy
Finish=short and light, a little bit of spice hangs around
Comments= The lightest (and oldest of the 15yo set) almost a little bit watery. I think that this one will go down fast.

[arkle]

Hi SM, it will be good to see what you say about them, each time I revisit one in the light of others comments I find a different flavour.

[mikeymad]

Pouring the 21yo Portwood Sample bottle

:-)

[Matt2]

A bit of water does help the Portwood a bit, but keep going back to the 15 SB (or should I say 17 SB)
I'm off for a little break, be back later .....

[Willie JJ]

Went looking for another SB out of curiosity:

Cask 280: 10.01.90 - 18.02.05

That one is 15 then. I guess it is just that they market the SBs as 'aged 15 years' which the 17 yo casks have been too (plus another two on top). Just makes for consistency in labelling I suppose.

[Willie JJ]

Ok I'll try the PW now.

[Sherried Malt]

Balvenie Double Wood

Nose: Thought I got a lot of cereal at the beginning (fresh bottle) but I couldn't find it to the same extent afterwards. Ton of honey and fruit now. Reminds me of an HP and when the sherry kicks in, it reinforces that impression. (Late flash: got the cereal again when the glass was nearly empty.)

Palate: Very light, dances on your tongue. Nice blast of initial sweetness but again, it's very light. Finding more fruit and a bit of citrus.

Finish: Good lingering finish. A bit drying/bitter but again, it's very light-footed.

The sweetness is the best part of this dram IMHO. Very accessible but wish it had a bit more oomph.

[Ganga]

Roasted Malt 14 yo

Nose: cooking fairy cakes. Candied almonds - strongly.
Biscuits

Palate: If you like sweet malts (I do) you should love this. The biscuits are still there with some fruitiness that I can't place.
There's just a hint of bitterness behind the sweetness now

Finish is not long, but it's long enough for the style.

Very nice IMO

Oh, now I want to try this one. Argh.

[Ras Mazunga]

Had unexpected visitors, couldn't use internet.
Started with FR 10, first time, beautiful... This malt has everything, it's floral round with honey, some wood to make it sweet and just a very full malt smell. Not necessary to taste, nose is satifying.
Ms. Mazunga allows me to buy three more.
Remarkeble because she also didn't get mad when I bought a Bruichladdich 10(last one of the shelf) together with the FR10 I'm having now. As a matter a fact, she can still smile:

[Willie JJ]

[quote="Collector57"]Roasted Malt 14 yo

Nose: cooking fairy cakes. Candied almonds - strongly.
Biscuits

Palate: If you like sweet malts (I do) you should love this. The biscuits are still there with some fruitiness that I can't place.
There's just a hint of bitterness behind the sweetness now

Finish is not long, but it's long enough for the style.

Very nice IMO[/quote]

Nick I couldn't agree more with this. I don't have the RM here to try it now, but your note exactly matches with my recollection of this dram. Nice one!

[mikeymad]

Not doing a breakdown of this one.

But the 21 is a fine beverage. Lovely sweetness and rich port notes that come through nicely.

Just like to drink it.

Cheers,

[TheTross]

Apologies for being late, just got in from a long day watching Rangers v Celtic and then Man U v Villa on TV with a couple of mates.

My first and last tasting I'm afraid, am too tired to go on for any longer :(

[B]Balvenie 15, 1988/2003, OB, 47.8%, Cask #3970[/B]

Nose: Very fruity; melon, pear, kiwi, under-ripe banana, citrus and avocado stand out. Brioche. Woody notes and very faint smoke. Faint bourbon character and a smattering of mint (spearmint?). A touch earthy. A little wood polish? Sweet - perhaps a little caramel. Curious hints of blue cheese?

Palate: Immediately quite woody - possibly even a little sappy - but also very fruity again (melon and citrus, amongst quite a few others). Minty too, and some polish again.

Finish: Fruity and minty.

Comment: The nose is excellent - like nosing a fruit bowl - but the palate is weaker. Not a favourite Balvenie of mine, but still very good.

[Sherried Malt]

[quote="Collector57"][quote="arkle"]Hi SM, it will be good to see what you say about them, each time I revisit one in the light of others comments I find a different flavour.[/quote]
Yes it's more complex than you first think isn't it?[/quote]

Do you find it comes out with water? I was planning on revisiting my two whiskies with a bit of water in Round 2...

[mikeymad]

Nice hit and run Tross.

[Ganga]

Balvenie Double Wood

Nose: Thought I got a lot of cereal at the beginning (fresh bottle) but I couldn't find it to the same extent afterwards. Ton of honey and fruit now. Reminds me of an HP and when the sherry kicks in, it reinforces that impression. (Late flash: got the cereal again when the glass was nearly empty.)

I've always noticed that the DW and the HP 12 are very similar, HP having that smokey element that really differentiates it from the DW. Good call.

[arkle]

Just re visited Single Barrel, can detect the blue cheese on nose and palate now, I suspect its because of the others I have sampled.

[mikeymad]

21 is gone and so am I.

Need to get ready for the WOW08 Show tonight. Warm up is done, now it is time to drink.

Thanks for all the notes guys. It was fun.... Keep it going I want to be able to see you guys going at 10pm (PST) when I get home.. :-)

Cheers,

[Ganga]

Ras,

What's in the sample bottles?

[Willie JJ]

Looks like the signature and the Single Barrel Ganga

[Ganga]

Goodnight Mikey. Talk to you later about WOW. Send my best to everyone.

[Sherried Malt]

Have fun at WOW, Mikey. Looking forward to your notes!

[arkle]

Having to leave you now, may make it back later, the one thing I know for sure is that the more i taste them, the more confused I get as to which I prefer!

[Ganga]

Good night Arkle. I'll be gone by the time you make it back. Have to gather with the PLOWEDsters again tonight.

[Sherried Malt]

Balvenie 21 yo Port Wood

Nose: Much tougher to bring out the nose. A hint of sweetness but that's about it. Can't really place it. A bit of heat as well. I've had a much more prominent nose in other tastings of this bottle...

Palate: Wonderful dram. It just fills your mouth with this very well balanced silkiness and sweetness that's very appealing. Fuller than the DW but I don't know that I'd attribute it to the port finish. Not heavy in any sense. Could drink this all day. Can't say that I get much port character in this whisky tho. I think it's a more of a hint/suggestion than something heavy-handed.

Finish: Long long finish but quite drying. Definitely bitter in a good way. Not over the top, but you know you've had a good single malt.

[Ras Mazunga]

FR10: suddenly I smell coffee
SB15: fresh cut wood, bourbon, almomst like bourbon..., taste like burnt oak with grapes in the back
DW12: lots of sherry and wood, strong Jasmin tea
S12:More interesting than the 12DW, more complex? Malt isn't overwhelmed

[David22]

Hi everyone, I am back at long last! Have been waiting patiently in the hotel lobby for a free pc.

[Sherried Malt]

I'm being dragged off to dinner by my lovely wife but as I was leaving, I got a huge blast of bananas in the remnants of the DW glass. A bit of caramel too. Still very very light...

[Willie JJ]

Portwood 21:

Nose: Very fruity with marmalade, figs and a spot of Bazooka Joe.

Palate: Very spicy with pencil shavings, cocoa and a little sandalwood.

Finish: That bitter finish almost comes on again, but the port-wood seems to have transformed it into a huge spiciness that zings around for a while and then settles into a gentle woody calm.

This is nice stuff. If this doesn't convince you that Portwood has its merits Ganga, then I guess its really not your thing.

[TreacleSponge]

Willie, what's Bazooka Joe?

[Ganga]

Hey David. Good to see you back.

[TreacleSponge]

Welcome back, David. How was the floating cocktail bar in the pool?

[Willie JJ]

C'mon Treacle am I really that much older than you? It's bubblegum.